


Taking sides

by karvolf



Category: Death Machine (1994)
Genre: Gen, small hints of Scott/Raimi, undercover!Raimi AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 13:04:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11669691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karvolf/pseuds/karvolf
Summary: Under the alias Alan Smithee, Raimi infiltrated CHAANK's headquarters as Scott Ridley's new assistant, planning to steal a bunch of information for the Humanist Alliance. Instead, he came back with Scott. The drive home after the first meeting with the Alliance is kind of awkward, Raimi is grumpy and Scott tries to cheer him up.





	Taking sides

“I really don’t know why you’re so surprised. What the hell did you expect?”

Scott kept his attention on Smithee to avoid looking at the road. As usual, Smithee was driving too fast, and the fact that the old rusty truck rattled and shook like it was going to self-destruct at any moment wasn’t helping matters. Smithee might’ve been able to pass as one of CHAANK’s employees (as long as you didn’t ask him to actually do anything too complicated), but he would never pass as a chauffeur.

“Look,” Scott continued, unable to stop himself from smiling a little as he stared at Smithee’s grim expression. “There was no way anyone from the Humanist Alliance was going to like me. Do I even look like I care? I don’t give a fuck, I’m used to people like them not liking me. I don’t like them either, so we’re even.”

Smithee frowned, his fingers drumming impatiently on the steering wheel as he waited for the red light to change.

“ _I_ care about what they think. Morris is such a cool guy! He’s the one who recruited me, and he planned the entire mission. He’s brilliant, and he knows so much stuff! I thought he’d be happy to see you wanted to… I dunno, help us out or whatever.”

“You were supposed to steal a bunch of shit, you idiot,” Scott chuckled. “Instead you made friends with the enemy. I’d be pissed too.”

But Smithee didn’t smile at that; he furrowed his brow and huffed. When the red light turned to green, he stomped on the pedal, making the truck jump forward.

“It’s not funny, Ridley. He talked to you like you were garbage; it wasn’t fair. I get why he doesn’t like you, but I wish he would’ve listened to me. I thought he’d understand that even people like you could have a change of heart once in a while, y'know?”

Scott didn’t answer, and instead only looked out the window. He wasn’t sure a “change of heart” was the right way to express why he even wanted to give information to the Alliance in the first place. He still didn’t feel bad about the things CHAANK did, no matter how awful they were; after all, he wasn’t personally to blame if people were dumb enough to buy weapons and kill each other. On the other hand, he hadn’t liked the way things had turned out recently at work: Dante’s latest projects were nothing but trouble, and it seemed to be getting worse every day. The company was in bad shape and things were getting scary.

Hadn’t he heard Smithee call him a rat once? Rats always knew when it was time to jump ship.

Besides, turning his back to CHAANK had another advantage, although Scott had to admit he wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it: it made Smithee see him in a new light. The thought of it made Scott nervous and almost feverish, shivering with a strange energy he didn’t know what to do with. When Smithee was happy he smiled and opened up to him so much more, and this new attitude was something Scott found himself enjoying more than he felt comfortable to admit. He tried to tell himself that what Smithee thought of him was not important, but he did care.

It was embarrassing, really.

Turning his head to look at Smithee again, Scott had to smile at the sheer annoyance and frustration still visible on his face as he drove.

“I’m sure I’ll be able to survive even if I don’t become friends with Norris, or whatever the hell his name was.” He hesitated and gave a small pat on Smithee’s shoulder, an awkward attempt at being friendly he immediately regretted. “Cheer up, Smithee. There’s this great pub not too far from my home, I think you would like it. Wanna go for a drink?”

He couldn’t help it; he blushed and felt stupid when Smithee gave him an amused look and smiled that big goofy smile of his. That big goofy smile, and those shiny grey eyes, and that ridiculous haircut. Scott found himself staring at them way too often these days.

“Alright, one condition,” Smithee said with a nod.

“Whatever you want,” Scott replied without thinking, immediately regretting how desperate that answer made him sound.

Smithee grinned, his annoyance forgotten for now as he kept his eyes on the road, his driving worse than ever.

“You gotta stop calling me ‘Smithee’, okay? The name’s Raimi. Sam.”

After this revelation Scott stayed silent for a while, turning the word inside his head as he tried to get used to it. Raimi… well, that was different. In the end, Scott shrugged and smiled.

“I guess I can get used to it. Good.”


End file.
